One of the oldest continually-run hospitality venues on Waiheke Island in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf is on the market for sale.

Vino Vino at 153 Ocean View Road in Oneroa is a Mediterranean-themed bar and restaurant which has been serving authentic Mediterranean cuisine for some 27-years.

The 90-seater venue is located on the hill-top ridge of Oneroa’s main street - providing unobstructed views overlooking one of Waiheke’s longest and busiest beaches just a few hundred metres away. Vino Vino makes the most of its prime position with a large outdoor deck serving area.

For 10 months a year, the venue runs seven days a week opening for lunch and dinner. During July and August each year Vino Vino is closed to allow the hands-on owners a chance to re-charge their batteries back in their beloved homeland – Croatia.

Now wanting to spend more and more time in Croatia with their children and ever growing number of grandchildren the Vino Vino business – but not the land and buildings in which it is housed – is being marketed for sale by negotiation through Bayleys Real Estate’s hospitality business sales division. Salespeople Carolyn Hanson and Markus Blum said Vino Vino’s reputation on Waiheke was among a privileged handful of such hospitality businesses to have been around for almost 30-years.

“Over the past decade of trading, Vino Vino has allowed its owners to comfortably operate the business as a lifestyle enterprise. New owners could well look at continuing on with a model which has worked so successfully for its current operators for the past 14-years, or taking Vino Vino in a new direction,” Hanson said.

“Any new operational changes could also include opening up for breakfasts – at least on weekends to start with – as well as driving group bookings for functions and events. A refurbishment of the interior to reflect a new menu would also be another option available to any new owner.”

Vino Vino employs a core complement of 11 staff – including two chefs and two kitchen hands, three full-time front of house personnel and a further three part-time front of house personnel, plus a restaurant manager. This core number expands during the peak summer period between November and March.

Hanson said that in addition to marketing its activities locally on Waiheke through ‘word-of-mouth’ referrals, Vino Vino utilised digital channels such as Facebook and Instagram to target incoming visitors to the island.

“Vino Vino’s location in the middle of Oneroa’s main retail strip ensures a high level of ‘passing trade’ from casual clientele. Concurrently, the food and beverage offerings and pricing levels are generally targeted toward repeat business from a local clientele. It’s not competing with the islands’ winery restaurants for customer trade, and has never sought to do so,” Hanson said.

“As a result of this domestic focus, the Vino Vino business has bounced back relatively quickly from the impacts of Covid-19 level four and level three trading restrictions.”

Blum said Vino Vino’s owners would look at a undertaking a ‘hand-over’ transition for any potential purchaser who was new to the hospitality sector. The 471-square metre Vino Vino venue is on a lease at its Ocean View Road premises, currently running through to 2028 and paying annual rental of $60,000 plus GST.

Chattels included in the business for sale include a full commercial-grade kitchen encompassing walk-in chiller/freezer units, combi’ ovens, gas hobs, deep fryers, substantial stainless steel food preparation benching, and crockery washing/cleaning equipment.

Front of house chattels include point of sale equipment, beverage refrigeration units behind the bar, tables, chairs, crockery, glassware and cutlery.

“With international tourism and travel beyond the consideration of most Aucklanders for the foreseeable future during current Covid-19 quarantine restrictions, many domestic locations within a few hours of Auckland are now benefitting. And with Waiheke being right on Auckland’s doorstep, yet just a short ferry ride away from the CBD, guests to the island feel like they are going away from the city. That has been an advantage for Vino Vino prior to hibernating for winter,” Blum said.

Waiheke has a resident population of 9,330 people – supporting some 1,476 businesses and 3,480 employees working on the island. Auckland City Council data reports that the island attracts some 900,000 domestic and international visitors annually.